As disclosed in German Gebrauchsmuster No. G 84 14 741, it is known in the art to provide a piston rod seal with guide elements. The piston rod seal includes a sealing disk provided with a reinforcement ring, a guide element, and a support piece. These piston rod seals are comprised of three separate parts which are placed in a metal pipe and held in place by a flange provided at one end of the pipe and a circumferential bead in the pipe. This known design with its many components is quite expensive to manufacture and also possesses a relatively long axial dimension.
In light of the foregoing, a need exists for a piston rod seal unit having a smaller axial dimension and possessing fewer components so as to be less expensive to produce.